The Windows Firewall Service Fails to start – Dependencies

As discussed in the previous posts in this series, there can be several causes that will prevent the Windows Firewall from starting. In this installment I will cover specifics of checking dependencies.

Checking Dependencies

When checking dependencies you will want to check to ensure that the default dependencies are in place, that there are not additional dependencies, and that the BFE and RPC services are starting.

Checking dependencies in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

As seen in the screenshots below, the Base Filtering Engine and the Windows Firewall Authorization Driver are the default dependencies. Use the steps below to view this:

Click Start

Right-click Computer

Click Manage

When Computer Management opens, open Services and Applications

Click Services

Right-click on Windows Firewall in the list of services and click Properties

Click the Dependencies tab

In addition, the Base Filtering Engine also has a dependency on RPC, as seen below.

Therefore, we also need to verify that the Base filtering Engine and the RPC service are started and set to start automatically as seen below.

Additional Dependencies

Finally, if there are any dependencies other than the ones mentioned above you will want to remove them.

Checking dependencies in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows 7 / Windows 2008 R2 have the same dependencies as Windows Vista but the services that have dependencies on them are different. Fortunately we are not concerned with what has a dependency on these services so we can check the same Base Filtering Engine and RPC services.

Conclusion

This is the last post of my series on troubleshooting issues where the Windows Firewall Service fails to start.